Monday’s Solar Eclipse – Here’s What You Need To Know [VIDEO]

Everyone is getting excited about the solar eclipse that will occur over the United States on Monday August 21, 2017. We will experience the maximum part of the eclipse here in Austin County at 1:16 pm. But, there are some things you need to know and more importantly, precautions you’ll need to take before you enjoy this event.

Some have wondered if the solar eclipse will be visible to us in the outlying Houston Area. Well, the answer is yes. It just won’t be as dramatic as if you were in the central path of the eclipse. The Houston area will experience a “partial” eclipse of the sun. During a partial solar eclipse, the Moon, the Sun and Earth don’t align in a perfectly straight line, and the Moon casts only the outer part of its shadow, the penumbra, on the Earth. From our perspective, this looks like the Moon has taken a bite out of the Sun. What will that look like? It will look something like this:

If you’d like to see a time-lapse of what it is projected to look like and the corresponding times, you can go HERE to www.timeanddate.com and view a very helpful animation of the entire event that they’ve created.

Now, even though we won’t be in the area to feel/see the total eclipse, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be memorable or we won’t feel the effects. Quite the contrary. Even in only a partial eclipse we will notice a drop in visible light as well as feel a drop in the temperature. But, while you may be tempted to look up at the solar eclipse, don’t! It will permanently damage your eyesight if you don’t take special precautions. (It literally cooks a part of your eye at the cellular level! Ewww!)

The video below explains what happens when you look directly at an eclipse and the steps to safely view the eclipse.

If you don’t have the special glasses to view the eclipse you can build yourself a pinhole projector with which to view it. The video below covers how to do that:

The last time there was a view-able solar eclipse over the U.S. was in 1979 so, this is a very special event indeed. The video below explains just why it’s so special.

If you find yourself driving while the eclipse is happening, be very wary of other drivers. You might encounter those who will try to view the event while still driving their car. So, always drive defensively.

The eclipse can be a fun and memorable event so enjoy it and be careful!